Clowns of the GOP

How much does it cost to harass Mike Aguirre? San Diego County’s Republican Central Committee forked over $375 on the 16th of this month to pay for a “Protest clown to oppose Mike Aguirre for City Attorney” from Violet Entertainment of Yorba Linda, California (Richard Nixon’s hometown), according to recent financial disclosure filings. To cover the expenditure, the party collected a sole $1000 contribution in the first three weeks of this month from the William D. Lynch Company, owned by the ex–airport authority boardmember and close ally of ex–city school chief Alan Bersin, who has expressed interest in running against Aguirre. As of January 19, the end of the reporting period, the Republicans owed an outstanding debt of $4124.75 to McAteer & McAteer, the law firm of Theresa and Christopher McAteer. She’s the ex–city attorney who filed an ethics complaint on behalf of the party against Aguirre last fall.

On the Democratic side, the county committee raised $2000 each from two unions, the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 230 of San Diego and Southern California Pipe Trades of L.A. Using those funds and money already in the bank, the party paid Larry Remer’s Primacy Group $7350.23 for “research and consulting.” It also paid $4000 to Remer’s favorite pollster, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin and Associates of Santa Monica. Remer copped a misdemeanor plea in 2006 to federal charges stemming from his alleged misuse of Southwestern College funds to pay for production of a school bond campaign commercial. A jury had earlier deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.